The representative offices of 20 overseas NGOs received their registration certificates in the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau on January 23. They are the first overseas NGOs to register in the city since the Overseas NGO Law came into effect. Officials from China’s central committees and foreign embassies attended the ceremony.
The 20 NGOs, which include the World Economic Forum, the Paulson Institute and Save the Children International, are mainly involved in the economy, environmental protection, health and poverty relief. They were mostly set up in the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Hao Yunhong, head of the overseas NGOs administration office, said that all the overseas NGOs management offices at the provincial level have now been opened up to the public. He added that the public security bureau shall uphold the concepts of opening-up, cooperation, transparency and justice to provide efficient services to overseas NGOs and protect their legal rights in China.
“Overseas NGOs have played a positive role in China’s economic development and disaster relief. The Ministry of Civil Affairs will continue to do its job in guiding NGO management”, said Huang Ru, deputy director of the Social Organization Administration of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
